The Oldest Tree on Earth

A tree in the Methuselah Grove, California, USA. Image Source: Where Cool Things Happen.

Until 2012, the oldest confirmed tree in the world was 'Methuselah,' a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) tree growing high in the White Mountains of eastern California, USA. Methuselah is 4,848 years old. In 2012, a nearby tree of the same species was found to be 5,066 years old (germination in 3050 BCE). As you can see from the video below, hikers can visit the grove where Methuselah and other Great Basin bristlecones live, aged 1,000-5,000 years old, but the wardens will not identify Methuselah or its older relative for fear that the trees may be vandalized.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California (4 October 2015). Video Source: Youtube.

For a list of the top ten oldest forests in the world go here; the oldest individual trees are listed here. Virgin or ancient old-growth forests worldwide are listed here. Ancient woodlands are protected by many associations and national bodies, such as the Old Growth Forest Network; Rainforest Action Network; the Tree Council; UNESCO; and Greenpeace.

One of the most important stands of ancient forest in Europe is Poland's Białowieża Forest. That forest has a number of ancient pedunculate, or English oaks (Quercus robur), which have interesting names: Great Mamamuszi; the King of Nieznanowo; Emperor of the South; Emperor of the North; Southern Cross; the Guardian of Zwierzyniec; Barrel Oak; Dominator Oak (now dead); the famous Jagiełło Oak, which blew down on 2 November 1974; Tsar Oak; and Patriarch Oak. In 2016, the Polish government started logging this forest, see reports here, here, here, here. In 2016, Finland renewed logging of the country's ancient forests, an ongoing problem since 2003.

Other famous stretches of primeval, ancient, old growth forest, in no particular order, and an incomplete list:

• Old-growth forests in eastern Canada and the Maritimes
• The Douglas Firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest states, USA
• In California, USA, great redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) include the largest living tree on earth, General Sherman, and Hyperion, the world's tallest tree
• Dedicated forests in the USA
• In England and the UK generally; ancient woodlands and royal forests feature prominently in British history, and these areas had their own branch of Forest Law outside the Common Law
• In 2002, the UK government compiled a list of Fifty Great British Trees to honour the Queen, including Sir Isaac Newton's Apple Tree at Woolsthorpe Manor
• Scottish National Heritage lists ancient woodlands here; of particular note is the Caledonian Forest, in which there are Scots pines descended from the first trees to grow after the Ice Age; Scotland's finest native forests are listed here
• In Ireland, there are almost no remaining ancient specimens, or descendants of post-glacial woodlands: most are lost; in 2014, an effort was made to preserve the DNA of ancient oaks, hazels, holly trees, and yew trees in new seedlings
• Also in 2014, a storm uncovered the petrified remains of a lost forest in Wales from 6,000 years ago; Wales is proud possessor of one survivor: the Llangernyw Yew, a male yew tree, variously aged between 1,500 and 5,000 years old
• Øvre Pasvik National Park, Norway; also Trillemarka - Rollagsfjell forest, Norway
• In the past decade, France has started to revive forest support practices not used since the mid-17th century
• French National Forest Inventory; see a list of important French forests here; France's national forests are listed here
• The Ardennes, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France
• Suserup Forest, Denmark
• Germany possesses ancient Beech forests in Jasmund National Park
• The Black Forest, Germany
• Primeval Beech Forests in the Carpathians
• Biogradska Gora, Montenegro
• Bohemian Forest, mountainous and forested region in Central Europe, also connected to the Bavarian Forest, contributing to a long-standing forest culture
• WWF's 2013 report on ancient forests in the northern Mediterranean region
• Caspian Hyrcanian forests, Iran and Azerbaijan
• Waipoua Forest, New Zealand, features two giant kauri trees (Agathis australis): Tāne Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) and Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest)
• The Tarkine, Tasmania, Australia
• Important regional reserves and state forests in Australia, particularly in New South Wales
• Rinjani National Park, Lombok Island, Indonesia
• The ancient forests on Yakushima Island, Japan, featuring the Yakusugi, or Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica); the oldest among these is Jōmon Sugi, and is estimated to be between 2,170 and 7,200 years old
• In Hubei province, China, featuring the rare Metasequoia glyptostroboides
• Lake Hovsgol Conservancy, Mongolia, on the Russian border
• Russia has several old growth forests (a map of their main locations is here; see here, here, and here); in 2012, the Swedish company Ikea was harshly criticized for logging an ancient Russian forest for its furniture materials in Karelia
• Forests in the Western Ghats, India
• Protected areas of Himachal Pradesh, India
• Protected biospheres of Tamil Nadu, India
• The Sundarbans, West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh
• Several Reserve Forests and protected regions in Kerala, India, especially Attappadi Reserve Forest
• Kakamega Forest, Kenya
• Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar
• Réserve biologique intégrale du Piton de la Fournaise, Réunion
• Chagres National Park, Panama
• Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica
• Réserve biologique intégrale de Lucifer Dékou-Dékou, French Guiana
• Aracuaria forests, Chile, spanning central Chile's Conguillío National Park and Tolhuacaca National Park
• Several areas of protected rain forest in South America
• The Great Chaco Forest, spanning Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil, has been heavily logged
• Yungas Rainforests of Argentina
• Serra do Divisor National Park, Brazil, near the Peruvian border

A tree in the Methuselah Grove, California, USA. Image Source: Where Cool Things Happen.

A tree in the Methuselah Grove, California, USA. Image Source: Mother Nature Network.